An Israeli Arab was arrested last month by police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) after it was learned that he had been recruited into the ranks of the Hizbullah terrorist organization.
Police announced Sunday that Ismail Mohammad Suleiman has been accused of attempting to pass classified information to the terrorist group. The 27-year-old Jezreel Valley resident was apparently enticed by the terrorists to join the Lebanon-based movement during a Haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
A number of Israeli Arabs have been arrested in recent years after having been recruited by jihadist terror groups, including Hizbullah.
A 29-year-old resident of Kalansuwa was convicted in January of giving sensitive information to the Lebanese terrorist group. Khaled Kashkush was sentenced by a Petach Tikva court to four years in jail on charges of having made contact with a foreign agent and passing information to the enemy. Kashkush was paid 13,000 euros for his services, which began in 2002, according to the court documents.
Four other Israeli Arabs were arrested last June on charges of selling weapons to terrorists. Three of the suspects lived in the village of Kafr Makr and the four was a resident of the northern city of Akko.
In addition, two cousins from the Abu Sakut clan in the southern Bedouin city of Rahat were indicted last July on charges of membership in the international Al Qaeda terrorist organization.Taher and Omar Abu Sakut were picked up in May 2008 in a joint sting by Israel Police and the Shin Bet. The pair confessed to a list of crimes, including aiding the enemy in wartime, passing information in order to harm national security and membership in a terrorist organization.